HAIRAN: Poems of Hair and Freedom by Iranian Women in Times of Repression and Struggle

by Daoud Sarhandi-Williams (Editor), Ali Sobati (Editor), Sepideh Jodeyri (Editor)

HAIRAN is a new anthology of poetry by Iranian women, compiled in the face of the violent attacks on life and liberty that began with the death of Mahsa Amini in Tehran in September 2022. Amini was arrested and killed in police custody for not covering enough of her hair in public. Here are 76 poems from a diverse cross-section of contemporary Iranian voices, accompanied by ‘hair portraits’ taken by the poets.

232 pages, Paperback

First published October 15, 2024

Reviews

[Sandrine Tangerine · Rating 4 out of 5]

I teared up a lot reading these poems. I realized poetry is a really good means for conveying feelings that are specific to someone’s social context. Though I knew the situation is horrible especially since the compulsory hijab law, I now could empathize a lot and cry about this through the images and feelings shared. Basically I could really really feel the horror, the rage, the fear, the pain etc of these Iranian women facing the disappearance of their freedoms… I will make sure to speak more about this in my circles, thank you for writing these and sharing.